Reply To: What Is Spiralling Math Class and Why Should I Do It? – Discussion

[Sean Breen]

As a former long-time music teacher, spiraling was the only way I knew how to teach. Imagine a music class unit where the group practices only one piece for a set number of days, expects to perfect it, and then moves on. Unfortunately, when I began in the Math classroom I felt institutional pressure to become “a real teacher” by adhering to the block model. However, recently I have begun organizing my lessons in a way similar to how I organized my music rehearsal, with an eye on the long-term goal, not just the here and now. I plan on going deeper into spiraling equipped with the information from this course.

[Sean Breen]

As a former long-time music teacher, spiraling was the only way I knew how to teach. Imagine a music class unit where the group practices only one piece for a set number of days, expects to perfect it, and then moves on. Unfortunately, when I began in the Math classroom I felt institutional pressure to become “a real teacher” by adhering to the block model. However, recently I have begun organizing my lessons in a way similar to how I organized my music rehearsal, with an eye on the long-term goal, not just the here and now. I plan on going deeper into spiraling equipped with the information from this course.